Improvement in fastenings for scythes



W. C. BARKER.

Scythe Fastening.

Patented Sept. 5;, 1865.

71U67Cf07'.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM o. BARKER, OF PROVIDENCE, ASSIGNOR TO B. BUoHANAn YALE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN FASTENINGS FOR SCYTHES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 49,822, dated September 5, 1865.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that'l, WILLIAM G. BARKER, of Providence, in the county of Saratoga and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Scythe-Fastening; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, elear,and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, formingpart ofthis specification, in which- Figure 1 is a side view of my invention; Fig. 2, a transverse section of the same, taken in the line 00 a Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a side view of a modification of the same; Fig. 4,ai'aceview'of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.

Thisinven tion relates to a new and improved fastening for securing scythes to their snaths, whereby the scythe may be readily adjusted more or less angularly with the snath-that is to say,the point of the scythe adjusted nearer to or farther from the operator, as may be desired-and the scythe at the same time firmly secured to the snath. A represents a portion of the end of a snath where the scythe is attached. This end is chami'ered ed, as nsual,to form a flat or plane surface, a, for the heel or tang of the scythe to abut against.

B represents a socket, which may be of malleable cast-iron. (That-probably will be the material mostly used.) This socket is fitted on a tenon cut on the end of the snath, and the socket is castor formed with a plate, b, which is let in the tlat or plane surface a of the snath, so that said plate and the exterior of the socket will be flush with the exterior of the snath. The socket B extends some distance beyond the end of the snath, and it has an oblong slot, 0, made in it to receive an eyebolt, U, the shank d of which passes entirely through the socket, and has a screw-nut, e, on its end, at the outer side of the socket, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The slot 0 in the socket B is of such a width as to admit of the eyebolt being adjusted laterally, and said bolt is secured at any point within the scope of its movement by a set-screw, D, which passes through a slot, (0*, in the socket and into the shank d of the eyebolt, said set-screw having a groove, 0*, ex-

tending circumferentially around it adjoining its head f, in which groove the edges of the socket at the sides of the slot a fit and prevent any longitudinal movement of the setscrew.

E represents the heel or tang of the scythe, the exterior end of which is provided with the usual lip, g, projecting from it at right angles, said lips fitting in a slot, It, made in the plate b of the socket. The heel or tang E passes through the eyebolt G, and is secured firmly in position by screwing up the nut e, and the scythe is adjusted more or less angularly with the snath, as the operator may desire, by moving the eyebolt laterally through the medium of the set-screw D. This lateral adjustment of the-eyebolt is made before the heel or tang is secured by screwing up the nut 6. By this lateral adjustment of the eyebolt the point of the scythe may be brought nearer to or moved farther out from the operator, as he may desire, and secured firmly in position at any point within the scope of its movement.

- In Figs. 3 and 4 a modification ot' the invention is shown instead of the setscrew D for adjusting the eyebolt laterallyQ The lower partof the eyebolt, at its front edge, is notched, as shown at i in Fig. 4, and a nib,j, is formed or cast on the socket B to engage with any one of said notches, the eyebolt being adjusted by hand, and when placed at the proper point the heel or tang secured by screwing up the nut e, as before.

The slot h in the plate b of the socket is made of such a length as to admit of the heel or tang being adjusted farther in or out, as desired.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- The securing of scythes to snaths by means of an eyebolt, 0, arranged in such a manner as to clamp firmly the heel or tang of the scythes to the chamfered surface of the suath, and at the same time admit of being adjusted laterally, so as to place the scythe in a more or less angular position with the snath, substantially as shown and described.

WM. 0. BARKER.

Witnesses M. M. LIVINGSTON, O. L. TOPLIFF. 

